CardWare, Inc. has rebooted its sole litigation campaign, launched in May 2022 with a case against Samsung, with separate suits against Alphabet (Google) (7:24-cv-00278) and Apple (7:24-cv-00279) in the Western District of Texas. The six asserted patents, asserted in overlapping sets, generally relate to using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to conduct wireless transactions. Apple is accused of infringement through the provision of products (e.g., computers, headsets, laptops, payment cards, smart watches, smartphones, and tablets) that support Apple Pay and Apple Wallet; and Google, over smartphones and smart watches that support Google Pay and Google Wallet.

HBCU Messaging US LP (f/k/a Rembrandt Messaging Technologies II, LP), a subsidiary of the HBCU Technology Foundation, has accused Apple and Green Dot (1:24-cv-01199) of infringing seven mobile messaging patents in a single Western District of Texas complaint. Apple is accused of infringement through the provision of the Apple Cash service and supporting hardware (e.g., laptops, smartphones, and smartwatches) and software (e.g., Apple’s Messages app and related servers/infrastructure) products, while Green Dot is targeted over the implementation of its payment technology in the Apple Cash service. This litigation is not the first between the plaintiff and Apple; the new complaint recounts in some detail the history of a German action filed against Apple (“and others”) in June 2015, an action that remains active today.

Inventor-controlled BrowserKey, LLC has filed its first litigation with separate suits against Bank of America (2:24-cv-00798), Charles Schwab (2:24-cv-00799), and Wells Fargo (2:24-cv-00800), all in the Eastern District of Texas. The sole asserted patent generally relates to restricting data access to a server by unauthorized client machines, with the defendants accused of infringement through the provision of their respective “Web and Mobile Applications”. At issue are features related to authorizing access to the accused products through biometric authentication (e.g., Apple’s Touch and Face ID), login credentials, and session identifiers.

In August, Telcom Ventures LLC filed its first lawsuit, accusing Samsung of infringing eight patents through the provision of Samsung Pay in an Eastern District of Texas complaint. In a new Southern District of Florida case, the inventor-controlled plaintiff has asserted the same eight patents, this time against Apple (1:24-cv-23837), targeting the provision of the Apple Pay service and iPhones that support it, as used together to make mobile payments via biometric authentication and near-field communication (NFC).

In a new Eastern District of Texas complaint, Telcom Ventures LLC has accused Samsung (2:24-cv-00691) of infringing eight patents that name as an inventor Rajendra (“Raj”) Singh, the plaintiff’s CEO. Telcom Ventures targets Samsung over the provision of Samsung Pay and various Samsung smartphones that support it, as used together to make mobile payments using biometric authentication and either near-field communication (NFC) or magnetic secure transmission (MST) technologies.

A couple of weeks ago, RPX noted “A Trio of Patent Transfers Worth Watching” (July 2024), which turned out to be fairly accurate, as two of the recipients—Cloud BYTE LLC (see here) and Light Guide Innovations LLC (see here)—have each launched litigation over their received assets. The third transfer from that article could also lead to litigation, as might this week’s highlighted transaction, from Orange to Transpacific IP Group Limited. In addition, two other sets of recorded assignments suggest that additional litigation might be coming, one from a party already involved in a case and one from a party that has yet to file suit.

Roughly 18 months after its case against Walmart ended in a pretrial settlement, Mobile Equity Corp. has filed suit against Exxon Mobile (2:24-cv-00641) over the same two mobile payment patents. In the new Eastern District of Texas complaint, the plaintiff targets the provision of Exxon Pay, pleading that during the prior case, “the patent eligibility of the Asserted Patents was confirmed”, and “the validity of the Asserted Patents was also confirmed by a written denial of institution of Inter Partes Reexamination at the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Walmart’s withdrawal of its defense challenging validity prior to trial”.

A new litigation campaign, filed by Texas plaintiff Amadora Systems, LLC, focuses on the alleged infringement of three patents generally related to capturing and processing a photo or video of an individual when conducting a transaction. Targeted in ten Eastern District of Texas complaints are Austin Bancorp (2:24-cv-00612), Bank OZK (2:24-cv-00615), BOK Financial (Bank of Texas) (2:24-cv-00614), Cullen/Frost Bankers (Frost Bank) (2:24-cv-00616), JPMorgan Chase (2:24-cv-00609), Regions Financial (Regions Bank) (2:24-cv-00618), Texas Bank and Trust (2:24-cv-00619), Texas National Bancorporation (Texas National Bank of Jacksonville) (2:24-cv-00620), Truist Financial (Truist Bank) (2:24-cv-00621), and VeraBank NA (2:24-cv-00622), each over the provision or use of ATM machines that include certain audio and/or video security surveillance systems.

Costco (2:24-cv-00546), Kroger (2:24-cv-00548), Shell (Equilion Enterprises, Shell Information Technology International) (2:24-cv-00549), Starbucks (2:24-cv-00550), Volkswagen (2:24-cv-00575) and Walmart (2:24-cv-00551) are the latest defendants to be sued in the August 2020 litigation campaign launched by inventor-backed RFCyber Corp. In the new Eastern District of Texas complaints, the plaintiff asserts three patents, which generally relate to contactless financial transactions with a mobile device over a network, in overlapping sets. The defendants are accused of infringement over the support for contactless payment functionalities in their various products; for Volkswagen, over its automobiles (and related software); and for the remaining defendants, over their respective mobile apps.

When the litigation campaign of Torus Ventures LLC paused in September 2022, seven defendants had been sued. As of last Friday, though, that number has nearly quintupled, Torus having filed separate Eastern District of Texas complaints against A-Max Auto Insurance Agencies (2:24-cv-00498), AffordaCare Insurance Agency (2:24-cv-00501), AFNB Holdings (American First National Bank) (2:24-cv-00530), Agentra Solutions (2:24-cv-00502), Agility Bank National Association (2:24-cv-00503), Al Boenker Insurance Agency (2:24-cv-00508), AI United (2:24-cv-00506), Aimbridge Hospitality (2:24-cv-00507), Allcat Claims Service (2:24-cv-00509), Amarillo National Bank (2:24-cv-00513), American Bank Holding (2:24-cv-00514), American Contractors Insurance Group (2:24-cv-00516), Anco Insurance Managers (2:24-cv-00519), Association Member Benefits Advisors (2:24-cv-00520), Assurant (American Financial & Automotive Services) (2:24-cv-00517), Austin Bank Texas National Association (2:24-cv-00521), Aspen Insurance Holdings (AgriLogic Consulting) (2:24-cv-00505), Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA Texas) (2:24-cv-00499), Azuma Leasing (2:24-cv-00522), Behringer Harvard Real Estate Services (2:24-cv-00526), Boon-Chapman Benefit Administrators (2:24-cv-00527), Brady, Chapman, Holland & Associates (2:24-cv-00528), Brightline Dealer Advisors (2:24-cv-00529), H.U. Group Holdings (Baylor Miraca Genetics Laboratories) (2:24-cv-00523), and Spend Life Wisely (American National Bank of Texas) (2:24-cv-00518). Each defendant is targeted with a single patent over its website’s support of the TLS 1.3 security protocol.